After the first session with Andersen, who was the third candidate to interview, Alvarez said to a UW official: “I think he is a slam dunk.”

Mixed metaphor aside, the 48-year-old Andersen on Friday was introduced as UW’s head football coach.

Andersen replaces Bret Bielema, who left three days after UW’s victory over Nebraska in the Big Ten title game to take over the Arkansas program.

“It’s been an unbelievable three days,” said Andersen, who interviewed Monday “When you are given the opportunity to sit down with coach Alvarez in an interview, it is a special experience.

“Everybody knows this program is where it is today because coach Alvarez built this program from the ground up. Had a great opportunity to watch from afar for a number of years as a young coach and have tremendous respect for what’s happened here and the way the kids play.

“When I had the opportunity to start looking into this job…it didn’t take me long. When coach offered me the job I just said yes. I think I shocked him a little bit.

“I didn’t ask any questions. I just held my hand in the air and was ready to go.”

Alvarez insisted he did not offer the job to any other candidate but Andersen, who turned Utah State from a laughingstock into a top-20 program in four seasons.

Throughout the interview session, Alvarez grilled Andersen about his view of running a program.

“Talk to me about your community involvement,” Alvarez said. “How important is the state? High school coaches relationships. Where are you going to recruit?

“I went through everything. I don’t leave a stone unturned. I need to hear his plan about everything. I wanted to make sure he had thought that plan out. He had a book ready for me on most of it.

“A lot of it was on all the things he believes in – his rules, his regulations, all those things.

“He is not coming in here trying to figure out what to do. He’s got a plan for success already.

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Interesting tidbit on BTN, concerning assistant coaches pay. The Badgers currently rank 11th in the Big Ten, ahead of only Purdue. If the Badgers are going to take the next step, that is probably something that will have to change.

Well Jay, there's supposedly an extra $800,000 floating around in the Athletic Department right now -the difference between the yearly salary for Bielema and what they will be paying Andersen-That would seem like a pretty good source of funds to bump up assistant pay.

How much of that was due to an influx of new coaches who joined the program at entry level the last two seasons as replacements for coaches who left to advance their careers was not adequately discussed by the panel.

Will the Badgers join Michigan and tosu as The Big Three of assistant salaries? Probably not.

Should it concern the Badgers that Illinois sits #3? Definitely not, as the Illini should spend their money more wisely on upgrading the most antiquated facilities in the Big 10 and placing a fence around the conference's #3 state in terms of high school talent--after Pennsylvania and Ohio. Beckman was a rising coach until he joined the Illini; that job has become a career-killer. The UW needs to get back to exploiting the Illini's recruiting weakness in St. Louis and the Chicago burbs and Catholic League.

UW assistant pay will increase. I like the way incentives have been written into contracts which increase the base salary incrementally for each subsequent year the coach remains with the Badgers. It rewards longevity without breaking the bank initially for unproven coaches.

I'm not suggesting that they have to be even in the top 3 in terms of salaries. There is no reason, however, that teams like Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana or even Northwestern should be able to pay more than UW. I don't think the pay difference will stop the Badgers from being a top program. But, when Chris Ash can double his salary by going to Arkansas, the situation has to be addressed.

I'm a BA fan and I think Gary Andersen will do a good job. In the end salaries will always be a concern for coaches just as it is for all of us. I'm just saying they have to be competitive.

My take.BB struck me as a "coaching climber" (ie wants to eventually coach in the NFL). No amount of money will stop him and if he is successful at AK he'll be gone. Nothing wrong with that.,

Ask me if GA sounds like that..I think we ALL know the answer.to that. He strikes my as a Hayden Frye type that could very well stay for a long while.That being said, salary need not be top dollar to hold him, only above competitive.

I also sense a "fire in my belly" attitude to win and he passes that along to his recruits. Give him a couple years of winning and we will be equal to MI or tOSU as a destination to play in the BIG. And for what it's worth, I suspect we'll see more 4 and 5 stars committing. That can't be all bad.

More than quite pleased with what I've seen and heard so far. Excellant job, Barry!

Belima was very arrogant around campus as well as with the boosters. I agree things may well now change for the better. Don't think for a second Barry isn't thankful Belima left. He is playing everyone like a fiddle, and will come out smelling like a rose. BA does walk on water!

Watched the whole press conference and post conference coverage on BTN. I am highly impressed. Coach Andersen was well-spoken and well-prepared. His past head coaching experience is a huge benefit. Sounds like he is looking for high character kids that love football. And he found the same thing in Madison. Love him or hate him, I have always contended that you had to give Bielema a ton of credit for the type of kids he was recruiting to Madison. Nobody is getting in trouble off the field anymore. No more Saturday night fights at the KK, etc.

After watching both press conferences, I am overjoyed to be a Badger fan and not a Razorback fan. I think we got the better coach. Loved the video clip of Coach Anderson shaking hands with Bucky after the press conference, and Bucky showing him how to flash the "W" with both hands. Beats the hell out of Woo Pig Sooie!

Welcome to Madison Coach Andersen. Hope you are here for a long, long time!

I watched his interview yesterday and I was impressed. Seems like a good guy with a good head on his shoulders. Now, let's hope that follows him to the football field and how well he recruits.

WI needs QB first and formost. Ball is gone after this season but we have White whom I think will be just as productive as Ball. But this team will not get far in the BIG 10 if they cannot find a solid QB. We need to have that be the #1 priority in my opinion.

Stave, Houston and Phillips (if he gets a sixth year). Not a great deal of experience, but certainly some nice talent to work with, especially with the younger guys -- Stave and Houston. What they need, desperately, is someone other than Abbrederis to catch the football.

The program is in excellent hands. BA nailed it once again, proving that he knows football and lives as the heartbeat of the Badger Nation.

The next order of biz is winning the Rose Bowl. Accomplishing these two feats will amount to the most amazing one-man administrative show I've witnessed in my fifth decade of watching college football.

Stanford is in a tough spot. The underdog UW is as business-like yet jacked up as I've seen it since the '99 RB. It's unfortunate that the game isn't tomorrow. Wish I could be there, as it will be a classic.

Hope Stave can play in the Rose Bowl. Phillips deserves to start but Stave can get the ball down field. He had a year to learn from Wilson, he's accurate, big arm, and smart, give him a chance, he just might be another quality WI walk on.

The more you see and hear about this coach, the more impressed you are. Give Alvarez credit; I think he hit the jackpot. This guy seems to embody all the things we Badgers want to see in the people leading our young atheletes.